“For some groups like the Redcloaks or former military officials. Working in the Academy of Arteria is seen as the ultimate goal of being able to coast on your laurels. Praised and recognised as talented individuals capable of teaching the next generation. For others in more fieldwork or research heavy subjects like archeologists and historians. The Academy offers much more structured and organised experiences than comparable work within the Pathfinders Guild. Though working within the Pathfinders does offer far more chances at fieldwork of a significant degree than Academy expeditions.”

- Tamara Russel, Editor - Arterian Affairs, “The Draw of the Academy”

With Princess Lucinia currently planning on how to diplomatically deliver the message that a princess of Carrador was shot by a bolt at a Traxian rally. Lady Olivia gave Sophia her blessings to go to the temple to find Sophie for what to do next. In exchange for not calling the guards on Sophia and just having the guardians take over, her condition was that the girl would report part of their investigation back to the Traxian when something important occurred. A suspicious request but one that Sophia didn’t immediately find fault with despite being wary of the lady.

By now Sophia was starting to understand what her twin had planned. Sophie likely wanted to hunt down the assassin herself, whatever her reasons are. However, an official investigation might muddy the waters and she hoped that there would be some way to help without being left out. Which meant that there was one last force skilled enough to hunt down well hidden foes and one group that Sophie had dealt with before. The Inquisition. Don’t much fancy working with them myself. She stopped in her steps, her hairs standing on edge as she felt someone’s gaze land upon her.

As one used to avoiding the attention of others, this felt very intentional. She moved to merge into the crowd, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t shake the feeling. With a resigned sigh, she sat in a corner and waited for the guardians to give the all clear. Save for breaking out of the cordon, there was not much else to do but wait. Then visit Sophie, figure out what to do, go back to Aryana and Elaria. It wasn’t a sophisticated plan, but simplicity was good enough. Certainly good enough for Sophie, she scoffed.

Resting in the shadow of a dozen people ahead of her, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Yet, as she finally settled down a little, her nerves tingled. She could feel the faint movement of something heavy, of a boot plodding its way across the ground towards her. Unwilling to be cornered, she hopped to her feet and quickly tried to relocate only for the crowd to pat in front of her.

Whatever thoughts were in her mind vanished as she caught sight of a guardian escorting two tall men clad in black coats and their brimmed hats. Guess they found me first. Waiting for the first move to see how she should react, she simply stood still as they approached.

“Sophia Kastianae?” One of the inquisitors spoke, “Your sister sent us to find you.”

As hushed whispers erupted around them, Sophia was both relieved and very angry. On one hand, she didn’t need to worry anymore, they were her ticket to Sophie and the church. On the other side, this was yet another obstacle to helping her blend in properly with the student body. No one’s going to forget some kid who just got taken by the Inquisition, willing or not. Dammit Sophie, could you just not immediately go with the first thought in your mind for once?

But left with little other choice, she made the most thankful expression she could given the current situation.

“That’s me, bless the stars that she’s alright.” She forced a smile.

“Come with us, please.” The Inquisitor ordered.

“Of course.” She nodded. And everything's just going to get more complicated, isn't it?

She was a prisoner, that much she knew. Though there were neither cuffs nor coercion, the inquisitors were watching her like a hawk. With templars guarding the approaches and their own guardian escorts, an escape attempt seemed ill advised.

The hallowed halls of the Astral cathedral was jam packed with confused students. Most being the spectators who were frightened by Sophia’s white lite. Others were simply unlucky and ended up stuck here for the moment. Priests were busy offering reassuring words while the junior ranks of lightwards and lightholders brought out water and some snacks for the tense crowd. More than a dozen templars stood guard by various pillars, and even a few guardians were allowed access to help keep the peace.

Passing murals and stonework, the two inquisitors led her down a side hall and into a small circular prayer room. While the small shrines to minor deities in the pantheon were still there, makeshift beds have turned this room into a temporary recuperation area. Sophia noticed Sophie first, the bedridden girl’s eyes opening in turn as she sensed her counterpart’s approach.

Sophie’s eyes then weakly glanced to the bed opposite her’s, Sophia following her gaze to the horrifying sight of a wounded Alodie. Comparing the two, Alodie’s wounds were far more superficial and merely required some treatment and bandages. Sophie meanwhile, had her abdomen fully wrapped back to front, and a sling helping her arm function.

However, the two were not the same and after shooting Sophie a knowing look, Sophia shuffled over to Alodie under the inquisition’s watchful eye. The girl’s eyes flickered open and put on a pained smile as she winced.

“Sophie?” Alodie asked.

Sophia shook her head and pointed at the other bed. Alodie’s expression dropped noticeably upon sighting her heavily injured comrade. The girl looked almost sad and Sophie held her hand.

“You’ll be fine. You helped Sophie out a ton. Now get some rest.” Sophia managed to offer a smile in return.

“I will. How’s Miraevie and the others?”

Sophia looked to Sophie who in turn looked towards the doorway.

“They’re outside in the cathedral. They’re fine, if a little shaken.” Sophia answered.

“Good. Tell them… tell them not to worry.” Alodie groaned.

Touched by the kindness in her heart, Sophia gave the girl’s hand a small squeeze. “Of course.”

Letting the girl rest, she made her way back to Sophie. A brief flick of her eyes however, told her that there was more going on. For one of the inquisitors was missing, either to report in or to bring another over. How troublesome.

Standing beside Sophie, Sophia just sighed. “Ever consider getting help?”

“About… shoot.” Sophie rasped.

“Yeah, figured as much.” Sophia clicked her tongue, “They’re fine, by the way. Mostly, fine.”

Sophie arched an eyebrow in curiosity. Seeing her twin’s weakened form felt bizarre to Sophia. Even after their time in the deep, it felt as if she was witnessing something that shouldn’t be. And that’s coming from your clone. She shuddered.

“The princess is fine.” Sophia continued, “But…” She looked away, “Someone did get hit. Samantha Edelin. She’s alive and recovering. It was only a glancing shot, thanks to you But the fallout from this… I’d rather leave the imagination part to you.”

For a moment Sophie seemed confused, likely processing the name within her head. Sophia could see the exact moment that Sophie’s eyes widened with worry, the picture becoming clearer as the girl finally realized what had happened.

“Lucinia’s a smart girl, she’ll figure something out.” Sophia offered a half hearted grin, “On a more important note, why’d you need me here?” She gave Sophie a soft pat on the head.

Sophie finally shuffled a little, though still unable to move much because of her wounds. She looked to the inquisitor who nodded in response. When he was about to speak, he paused, turning to look towards the doorway. Sophia tensed up, noticing his quick change of demeanour and quickly moved between him and Sophie, just in case. Then she heard it, the rapid rush of someone running towards the room.

The door swung open with a speed that caught even the inquisitor off guard, the man barely having time to assess who entered when Eva barged into the room.

“Excuse me.” The saintess barely had time to breathe when she spied the other occupants, “Oh God, Sophie! What the hell happened?” The older girl rushed to the half elf’s side.

Sophia watched as Sophie made pained grin, Eva immediately enveloping the girl in a gentle embrace.

“Holy shit, what happened? You’re… oh God.” Eva stroked Sophie’s hair, “I heard a half elf got brought in and about injuries. To think it’s you…” She let out a sad snicker, “Kinda figured it’d be you.”

“H-hurk-heh.” Sophie coughed out a laugh.

Over by the doorway, the inquisitor’s college made a belated if somewhat tired arrival. His poor attempt to hide his lack of breath did not go unnoticed by Sophia. So that’s who let it slip. But then where was he going in the first place?

“Sophia.” Eva’s voice now directed to her.

Startled, the girl gave a little jump. Finally understanding how Sophie could keep getting lost in her own thoughts.

“Hi, Eva. Yeah?”

“What happened?” Eva demanded, her tone of voice left little doubt to the anger the older girl felt.

Sophia turned to Sophie but couldn’t see her face. What do I say? Sophia prodded Sophie’s mental barriers.

Whatever you want. Sophie replied, though even their mental connection seemed weaker.

Interesting, so even this isn’t a foolproof means of communicating, Sophia mused to herself.

“Sophia?” Eva got more impatient.

“Right. Sorry, thinking about how to make this make sense.” Sophia dipped her head apologetically, “I guess I can summarise it as Sophie had a bad feeling about things. Ended up at a Traxian peace rally. Found an assassin, fought the assassin and here she is.”

“What?! Is that true?” Eva turned back to her charge.

Sophie meekly moved her head.

“You idiot.” Eva cursed affectionately, “Why the hell are you always doing such dangerous shit, huh? At least you stopped the bastard, right?”

“But..” Sophia reluctantly interrupted.

Eva’s coddling paused, the girl turning back to face her, “But?”

“There were more casualties.” She gestured at Alodie.

Eva seemed to finally realise that it wasn’t only them in the room, the girl’s expression becoming more downcast as the sobering reality continued to set in. Well, damn.

“And… that’s not all. One of the attendees got injured too.” Sophia continued.

Eva just waited, gesturing for her to go on.

“The target, who we think was Traxian Princess Lucinia, is fine. However, a stray bolt did injure another student. Samantha Edelin.”

Eva’s face paled, the older girl sucking in a deep breath and looking away.

“That’s not good.” Came the low whisper.

Sophia just looked away.

“Troublesome, very much so.” The more senior looking of the two inquisitors spoke up, “And why I presume that you told us to rescue your colleague.” The man looked directly at Sophie, the girl offering a meek grunt.

“Sophie?! You’re offering to work with the inquisition?!” Eva let out a shocked gasp.

“Just… help.” The girl barely mumbled.

“Not exactly. At least, not in the same way you work with Inquisitor Janus “ The inquisitor clarified.

“Then what do you mean?” Eva looked between the two of them.

The senior inquisitor merely flicked a glance at his subordinate. The other inquisition gestured at someone out in the hall. As heavy hoofsteps echoed on the church’s marble floors outside, Sophia’s eyes widened. Sophie weakly leaned over to look her in the eye, the letter got sent.

From behind the other inquisition, the towering figure of a fully armoured minotaur stepped through the doorway. His battered silver armour looked scarred and scuffed, yet also giving the impression that it would survive a thousand more blows. Sophia had seen glimpses of the beast within her shared memories. But to finally see the blademaster in person intimidated her. Supported by only a few wards to keep spells at bay, this was a person who fought with strength and speed. A fighter whom Sophie tried to emulate despite neither possessing the size, strength, or skill.

“What damn fine mess have you gotten me into this time around?” Blademaster Taurox snorted.

Sophia could feel the muffled cacophony in her counterpart’s mind. The wave of conflicting emotions ebbing and flowing as the situation continued to shift. Most of all, despite Sophie having mostly closed off her mind, Sophia could still sense the growing wave of optimism at Taurox’s arrival.

The minotaur had then closed the door to the prayer room and the gathered party, or rather, Sophia had to catch him up on everything. Though it had come at the cost of some embarrassment as he originally thought she was Sophie, only for her to awkwardly point to the real one. She saw the minotaur's expression soften when he caught sight of the two injured girls within the room.

After informing him of the situation in full, the minotaur’s expression matched that of Eva’s. The wary saintess remained in the room, with the inquisitor looking very much like they would send her away, but neither possessing the power to do so.

“So, what now?” Sophia asked.

The inquisitors turned to her, making the others do the same.

“Your colleague simply told us ‘sister, evidence’. So we assume you have what we need?” The senior inquisitor asked.

Sophia was hesitant, still unwilling to simply throw herself behind the church the same way Sophie had. But seeing little that would dissuade them without drawing suspicion on herself, she reluctantly brought out the bloodied necklace. Taking a close look, she found herself staring at it now that it had been illuminated by the room’s light properly.

With chains made of what appeared to be a silver of sorts, the iconography itself was that of a two headed bird. In the center of that strange bird was the sign of a cross overlaid atop a shield that made up the bird’s body before it spread its wings out. The others looked at this with differing levels of apprehension, but after Sophia laid it down atop a table by Sophie’s bed, the inquisitor was the fist to make a thoughtful noise.

“It’s similar to the Traxian aquila. Except two heads, one for the courage to move forward, one for vigilance over the people.” The senior inquisitor mused.

“Traxian?” Eva hissed, “Would they really…”

“Perhaps. But I don’t think so.” He tapped the necklace, “It’s almost too convenient. Unless they intended to send a message.”

“Ah, but if that's the case, they risk drawing Arteria into outright war. Considering that both Carrador and Abenstadt are engaged fully, I somehow doubt that. Beyond that, if they were trying to keep this covert, why send someone with a symbol if he’s meant to keep hidden? Especially if he gets found.” Eva finished the thought.

“Exactly, saintess. We could suspect a lapse of judgement or it being used as some kind of code. But there are chances something else might be afoot.” The inquisitor agreed. He then turned to Sophia, “Was this the only thing you could find?”

“Pretty much. Didn’t get a lot of time before the guardians came calling.” Sophia shrugged, “Didn’t want any trouble so I left. But I don’t think there was much else besides this anyway.”

“Huh. Well done, I suppose. But this just leaves us with more mysteries than not.” The inquisitor grunted.

“We need more information. Would the guardians know anything?” Taurox growled.

“Possibly. But unlikely. They focused on securing the area first. It’s protocol.”

“Mmm, secure the safety of the students. It makes sense. But they need to be better. Clearly, she managed to get in and out as well.”

“So wait, are we saying that this is… this assassination attempt was part of something else?” Eva asked, “That Sophie and her friend got hurt for nothing?”

“Indeed, saintess. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.” The inquisitor bowed.

Only now did the inquisitors take notice of Alodie’s presence in the other bed. Seeing this, Sophia tensed, unwilling to let them harm her friend. Thankfully, their interests seemed to end about as soon as it began, likely seeing her as a non-factor in whatever was to come. When they turned back to the necklace, Sophia relaxed a little. Still need to make sure they don't try anything with Alodie though.

“We’ll need to look into this more, though if you’ll pardon me for saying, I don’t think Inquisitor Janus would much appreciate us involving you in this matter, saintess.”

“Don’t mind him, I’ll deal with that matter myself. Whoever this was hurt Sophie and Alodie. I’ll not just sit idly by.”

“Hah! A warrior's heart you have!" Taurox cheered, "You can count on my help as well. Here I was, thinking I was here to train the young elf. Now there’s two elves, and a plot afoot. Astralis must’ve blessed you with misfortune.” He let out an exasperated chuckled.

Sophie responded with a strained chuckle of her own.

“I trust this matter is to be kept amongst us for now?” The blademaster addressed the inquisitors.

“As you say, blademaster.”

“Good. Then let’s look into what we can do.”

Details.

“We have a necklace that seems to be a mimicry of Traxian special operations...”

Details. The voice spoke in Sophia’s mind again, breaking her concentration.

Not expecting Sophie’s words, Sophia was a little rattled and only managed to calm herself when the others started analysing the necklace. What?

I have details. Face information of the assassin.

Then tell me and I can tell them. Sophia replied, a little excited.

Yes, but not like this. Come closer, pretend to whisper. Can’t draw suspicion.

Their silent interaction earned them a glare from Eva, the girl slowly piecing together what was happening and just looking at the pair expectantly.. As she moved to Sophie’s side, Sophia fidgeted uncomfortably as Eva’s eyes tried to bore a hole into her.

After making a series of vague hand gestures. Sophia interrupted whatever was being discussed by the others with a cough. Almost like a hive mind, everyone else looked at her in unison, unnerving her a little.

"There's also one more bit of information. Sophie remembers a little about the assassin. Taller than her by a head at least, brown hair, wispy moustache, beady eyes, and a large scar across the left cheek from cheek to chin." Sophia shared.

"Well... it's something to work with." Taurox grunted.

"It's as good as anything to work with." The senior inquisitor affirmed, "Let's discuss a plan of action, shall we? I dare say we have a very limited window to figure everything out before this whole thing escalates beyond our control."